Systems and Methods for Heating Water Using Heat Pump Water Heaters Having Natural Convection Evaporator Heat Exchangers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional heat pump water heaters are limited by their size and noise levels due to the reliance on air movement sources, making them incompatible with typical installation locations and less desirable than conventional electric water heaters.
Innovation Solution
A heat pump water heater design utilizing a natural convection evaporator heat exchanger that eliminates the need for air movement sources, reducing unit size and noise by leveraging ambient air temperature gradients for heat transfer, and incorporating a compressor and condenser heat exchanger within an insulation jacket to enhance efficiency and accessibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If conventional heat pump water heaters use air movement sources (fans) to transfer heat, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but unit size increases and noise levels increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the air movement source (fan) from the heat pump water heater system. By eliminating this component, the unit size is reduced and noise is eliminated, while heat transfer is maintained through natural convection mechanisms and optimized heat exchanger design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical air movement system (fan-driven forced convection) with a natural convection system. This substitution eliminates the need for mechanical air movement components, reducing unit size and noise while maintaining heat transfer functionality through buoyancy-driven air flow.
2Productivity
If conventional heat pump water heaters use air movement sources (fans) to transfer heat, then heat transfer efficiency is improved, but noise levels increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the air movement source (fan) from the heat pump water heater system. By eliminating this component, noise is eliminated while heat transfer is maintained through natural convection mechanisms and optimized heat exchanger design.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical air movement system (fan-driven forced convection) with a natural convection system. This substitution eliminates noise generated by mechanical air movement components while maintaining heat transfer functionality.
3Volume of stationary object
If heat pump water heaters are designed to be more compact, then space occupancy is reduced, but heat transfer efficiency may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the heat exchanger design with enhanced surface area and improved geometry specifically at critical heat transfer locations. This localized optimization maintains high heat transfer efficiency within a compact overall unit size, allowing the system to be space-efficient without sacrificing performance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a compact heat exchanger design where components are nested or closely integrated. The evaporator and condenser are arranged in a space-efficient configuration that maximizes heat transfer surface area within a reduced unit volume, maintaining efficiency while reducing size.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution reduces unit size by 1 to 30 inches and noise levels by 1 to 60 dB, while increasing the surface area of the evaporator up to 20 times, enhancing water heating capacity and efficiency without the need for fans, thus addressing size and noise issues of conventional heat pump water heaters.
Implementation Method 1
A natural convection evaporator heat exchanger may be used in the heat pump water heater without an air movement source to direct air to the evaporator heat exchanger
Implementation Method 2
A water heater using a heat pump works on a reverse refrigeration cycle, absorbing and using heat from the surrounding air to heat water within a water tank
Data Source
AI summary
A heat pump water heater is disclosed herein. The heat pump water heater includes an outer casing and a water tank disposed within the outer casing. The water tank includes a top wall, a bottom wall, and a side wall extending between and connected to the bottom wall and the top wall and has a hot water outlet and a cold water inlet configured to enable water to flow into and out of the water tank. Additionally, the water heater includes a condenser heat exchanger surrounding at least a portion of the side wall, an insulation jacket disposed around at least the side wall and the bottom wall of the water tank and the condenser heat exchanger, a natural convection evaporator disposed about the side wall and employing no fan to direct heating medium to the refrigerant, and a compressor and tubing connected to the condenser heat exchanger and the natural convection evaporator.